River Run Park in 2019!

Forsyth MO – Feb 22, 2019 - I thought to go for a walk about in River Run Park. It had been a few years since I was able to go there due to sewer construction and a new bridge. I also wanted to visit the Park before is became submerged once again under the waves of Bull Shoals.

River Run had been a very nice park situated to the east of the town of Forsyth Missouri. It contained 31 RV spots with most complete with a covered table and a charcoal grill. Electrical outlets were also available and turned on during the regular camping season. It also sported a jungle gym, a boat launch flush toilets and showers, a waste disposal station and was situated next to Bull Shoals Lake. (There used to be an office there, but it had been removed years ago. And, as I mentioned earlier it's been mostly closed).

A good dry spell would help a lot!

But this year, the Park was open, sort of! At least it would be until flood waters forced it to close, which looks likely in or about March of this year. The phone number for the Park was listed as (417) 546-6637, However I was unsure as to whether it was still working or not.

The good news on this date, was the promise of an extended dry spell commencing around Sunday, Feb 24 that should last until late into the following week.

Please see taneyweather.com for more updates!

One area Park seems to be open!

Check out a short video at https://youtu.be/MIA_Ps-Dkq8

Note that I have nothing just do with the parks, I just go to them to waddle around a bit!

Shadowrock Park open?

New bridge to be erected just off to the right of this picture!

Forsyth Mo. - I was able to drive through the popular Shadowrock Park near the town of Forsyth recently and it seemed non the worst for wear, in spite of being flooded for over four months!

Shadowrock playground

While most areas were a bit dusty, it was nice to see grownups and kids using the park facilities once again. Fishermen were also out in some numbers using the boat ramp on that side of the lake. River Run, on the other hand was still a bit inundated with flood water and was closed. It was important to note that the campsites in both parks remained closed, pending cleanup of the premises.

River Run was still flooded out!

I had to wonder, however, what sort of negative impact that the building of a new bridge was going to have, especially next spring when construction would be in full swing? That's always assuming that the area doesn't suffer through flooding spring rains such as were seen in 2017!

So, you can go this way.... for a while! Opps! No, you can't!

Forsyth MO. – That government owned gate that sits atop Baker Street hill and which leads down in the the federally owned River Run Park is once again open! But wait! It'll be open for just three weeks or until about the middle part of July when the Corps of Engineers have said they will once again lock it up due to 'construction' concerns. That's what I was told by a person that called them up on the phone... only he was lied to as they never did unlock that fk'ing gate. Perhaps the 'construction project' had been moved ahead, I wondered.

But, just what sort of construction would require the closing of a 300 foot segment of a county road that many residents of the Valley View Village community use to get to both the park and Highway 76 on their way to and from work? Was the entire park also to be closed?

That thought brought all sorts of questions to mind. You see, the trouble is that some agencies such as the Corps seems to have trouble corresponding to the common people on a regular basis, in my opinion. I did check their Recreation.gov site and discovered that they were still taking reservations all the way out into August! So, I was forced to assume that the park wouldn't be closed, just that short segment of street.

Wait! Maybe it had something to do with the Powersite Sewer Project. After all, they will be digging up the entire area for the installation of a new sewer. No, I called and they said that they too were trying to have access to the same road segment. Well, I thought, what about the bridge the runs over Bull Shoals? I had read somewhere that it was going to be replaced, with work starting just about this time. Nope, a call to MoDot put that idea to rest also.   So, the mystery deepens....

Shadowrock Park emeges from beneath the waves!

Forsyth MO - According to Forsyth City Supervisor, Chris Robertson, 'efforts were now underway' to clean up debris that were a result of flood conditions that affected two popular parks on the outskirts of the town.

Mr. Robertson went on to state that 'there are no plans to reopen the park for camping until next year'. He also implied that the barricades would remain in place in order to allow the ground under the roadways to thoroughly dry and thus prevent potential damage from vehicular traffic.The author of this post assumes that situation would also apply to Shadowrock's sister park, River Run, which is still mostly inundated as of late September.

At some point in time, during the fall, a public announcement will be made to request volunteers to help with the final cleaning. This will have to wait, according to Supervisor Robertson, until the park is completely dried out and the bathroom facilities can be made available. That could well be sometime after mid October, assuming we do not get any more significant rainfall.

A quick picnic at River Run Park!

On a Tuesday in late July day, at around noontime, I decided it would be a great idea to go down to a local part for an informal picnic. The weather was picture perfect at 82°F, as is it this time of year, and I thought sitting next to a river might be just the ticket!

Most people around these parts know River Run is a popular RV/camping area situated just east of the small town of Forsyth Missouri. On this particular day, only a few scattered RV's were in evidence leaving the park about 1/3 full. I elected to park at site #25 which is just across from the dual bridges that span Swan Creek. A small tributary that feeds into the much larger Bull Shoals.

Under a partly cloudy sky, with just a little wind out of the west for companions; I laid out a simple man's feast consisting of a hotdog, a bowl of vegetable beef soup I'd made earlier and a Diet Pepsi.

Over to my left, out on Bull Shoals river, I noticed there was one or two fishing boats in evidence. They always seem to be running from one location to another.

As, I ate, I was struck by just how quiet this park is. It's a great location to just sit and watch the river slowly flow on by.

River Run looking good for 2014 season!

It's May, the weather has warmed and the grass has been cut! River Run Park is now open for business and it's missing just one thing – you!

I stopped there this day to have a quick lunch while watching the Bull Shoals river move on by. There were a few boaters out there, even though it was a bit on the windy side. River Run is a quiet place where you can come to relax while still being in easy driving distance to the wonder shows the the nearby town of Branson!

River Run near Forsyth Mo! The 2014 season begins!

According to www.recreation.gov – River Run Park will open on May 1, 2014 for a season that runs through September 30^th. I took a drive through this popular park and can report that things there looked pretty good! Lake levels look to be healthy and I've observed numerous fishermen who seem to be doing rather well! 

There is also what appears to be a Park Attendant on site and I noticed that one RV was located at one of the campsites and was hooked to both water and power. According to the aged sign that was near the attendant's office, the fees are $13 & $16 - not sure what you get for this, however.

My weather station is just a stones throw from the Park where you can see live realtime temperature and wind readings - catch it at www.taneyservices.com!

A micro study of our government at work!

If ever there was a good example of governmental FUBARism on a micro scale, it'd be the Army Corps of Engineers and how they recently responded to a request to slow down traffic in a local park near Forsyth Missouri!

Here's the setup! It seems that some fishermen, in their eagerness to get to the boat ramp at this park would sometimes exceed the posted speed limit of 10 mph! Apparently, this activity was disturbing to other campers in the park, and so a simple solution was embarked upon.

Simple solution: A couple of speed bumps costing a few bucks each would have been quite adequate and would have solved the problem neatly without much ado. (At least, that's how it seemed to me)!

The Government's solution: So, what did the Corps of Engineers actually do? They purchased a bunch of 'stop' and 'yield' signs that they posted all over the park and which, in retrospect, look completely ridiculous! In addition, I'd guess each of the seven signs cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 and while they might look pretty, it was amusing to watch the people entering and leaving the park completely ignore them. (After all, even the slowest of those who dwell among us can figure out that the roads in the park are not enforceable by the local police). Duh! So, while I kinda understand this effort, I cannot applaud the expense.